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When confronted with demand to end profits from human rights abuses in Palestine, Whitman pledges to "look into it"

A group of HP shareholders advocated for a resolution calling for stricter oversight of Hewlett-Packard profits derived from violations of the human rights of Palestinians while local Bay Area residents outside rallied in support of their demands.

The meeting took place on March 19th at the Santa Clara Convention Center, where shareholders presented a resolution calling on the company to establish a board commitee for human rights issues, noting the that company has been “embroiled in public controversies regarding the human rights implications of products, services and corporate supply chains.” Full text of resolution.[2]

Hewlett-Packard management recommended that shareholders vote against this modest resolution, and consequently the resolution failed to pass.

More than half a dozen shareholders raised the issue of Hewlett-Packard's provision to Israel of biometric equipment used to restrict the movement of Palestinian civilians under military occupation. In response, CEO Meg Whitman said that the firm would "look into" the issue.

“We are encouraged by Meg Whitman's public commitment to investigating the use of Hewlett-Packard equipment in discriminatory manner to segregate Palestinians,” said Alexei Folger, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. “Discrimination is anathema to Jewish tradition and to basic human rights principles, and our task now is to hold Ms. Whitman to her word."

“The Presbyterian Church will consider divestment from Hewlett-Packard this June,” added Geoff Browning, a Presbyterian pastor and former HP employee. “The company needs to learn that profiting from injustice is not a good way to make money.”

“Last year, students at the University of California, Berkeley, voted to divest from Hewlett- Packard because of its abysmal record in Palestine ,” added Viveka Jagadeesan, UC Berkeley student. “Hewlett-Packard provides services to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. These segregated communities are illegal under international law. Students are clear that we don’t want our tuition money to support human rights abuses in Palestine, or anywhere else.”

“Hewlett Packard has made a strategic decision to move into the homeland security industry, but it has not adopted a rigorous human rights policy to match. The company’s collaboration with some of the worst regimes in the world in the control and repression of civilians is starting to cost it the market here at home,” said Dalit Baum, PhD, Middle East Program Director, American Friends Service Committee. “We hope that this growing boycott campaign will convince the company to change its course”.

The Coalition to Stop HP includes American Friends Service Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace: Bay Area, Santa Cruz and South Bay chapters, Global Exchange, UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine, Northern California Friends of Sabeel and San Francisco Veterans for Peace.

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We are a coalition of organizations and groups who came together to challenge HP's complicity in human rights violations in Palestine and to ask the company to withdraw from such contracts and stop profiting from the Israeli occupation.

Join Us in asking Hewlett-Packard to stop supporting the Israeli occupation:

Sign our Petition![3] This petition calls on the CEO of HP to end HP's involvement in the occupation of Palestine, to stop aiding and abetting violations of international law and violations of Palestinian human rights. By signing this petition, you pledge to boycott HP products until this company pulls out of their unethical contracts in Israel/Palestine.

We all know the myth: Hewlett-Packard started in a Palo Alto garage. It’s one of those “brilliant, creative local boy makes good” stories. But did you know that today HP is among the top military services companies in the world? HP specializes in technologies to control and monitor large populations and it sells them to prison authorities, immigration police and military regimes. These products are designed to limit human rights and civil rights, and they are a threat to all of us.

• HP’s Basel system is installed at Israeli military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank. These checkpoints are located deep inside the Palestinian area, and the HP system is used to restrict and control the occupied population.

• HP is developing a new biometric identification system for the Israeli government, marking Palestinian citizens. This system takes to a new level of technology the stratification of citizenship rights in Israel, denying Palestinian rights to civil equality in their homeland.

• HP runs the Israeli navy’s information technology infrastructure. The Israeli navy was responsible for the raid on the freedom flotilla in 2010 that resulted in the death of nine activists and the injury of many others. Since 2009, HP has supplied all PCs to the Israeli military.

• HP provided a computerized storage system to the illegal settlement city of Ariel and one of its main distributors works out of another major settlement, Modi’in Illit. Settlements are recognized as illegal and as a major impediment to peace by all countries except Israel.

• HP works with the California Department of Corrections on prisoner data systems and with ICE on immigration status checks. HP products are used by the Iranian and Syrian regimes in surveillance systems monitoring political dissidents.

Social justice groups around the world have been trying for years to discuss these issues with HP, but we have been unsuccessful in getting their attention.

Join The Coalition to Stop HP!

The Economic Activism program website at Global Exchange summarizes our information about Hewlett-Packard[7], including its involvement in the Israeli occupation, with U.S. prisons and immigration, links to important resources, and information on other campaigns targeting HP. See: www.globalexchange.org/hp[8]